Promises: A Companion to Crazy
by azarathangel
Summary: Dedicated to Dusty aka Insanity 101. With Slade out of the way, everything should be okay, right? When Robin is struggling, Raven is willing to give it all to save him, even if it costs her life. RobxRae, lil StarxCy and onesidded BBxRae


**Summary: Slade is finally gone, but is it really a time for celebration? Our favorite boy wonder struggles against controlling his anger and pain while Raven tries to defy the circle of life and keep her friend sane, even if it means her life. **Pairings: RobxRae; little StarxCy; and one-sided BBxRae from BB's point of view, of course.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or 'Breathe No More' by Evanescence. **There is a reference to the lyrics here, in case you were wondering. Figure it out and I give you a cookie. This might be a little OOC but deal with it - um, anyways…

To my number one reviewer, my "most awesome and punctual reviewer, dusty the great", as she calls herself, I present this story. It is a story off of the poem _Crazy _that I wrote. I recommend reading it before reading this. But if you don't want to, whatever, but read the poem I think it's pretty good. And so, my loyal readers and newcomers of my stories and poetry, I give you The Beginning of a Terrible End.

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**It was over. The war against him was done. Slade Wilson was finally dead. It had been a long, hard battle, not only for the heroes but for the innocent population of Jump City that fell victim to the madman's scheming and destructive actions. A battle of six years, six months, and six days. From the day the Titans were formed to the day their greatest adversary fell. But for one Titan, the battle had only begun.**

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"Yo Raven! Go get Robin. Dinner's almost ready and he's not answering his communicator or anything." Mashed potatoes whistled past her ear as Cyborg pointed blindly at her with a spoon.

The dark girl sighed heavily. "Why must they always make me do this…" She muttered to herself. "He's probably still on the phone, Cy." Raven stated, her eyes not leaving her book. Cyborg groaned from his position at the stove.

"That's the third time this week! Always talking with whoever for hours! ROBIN!" Raven winced while a coffee mug bounced off the vibrating table in front of her. Cyborg was about to holler again when she slammed her book shut.

"Don't EVER do that again." Raven glared at the metal man. "I'll get him." Cyborg gave her a wide smile and Raven just shook her head. "You do know that you look absolutely ridiculous in that hat…" Cyborg only pulled the oversized chef's hat down firmer over his head. Sighing for what seemed like the hundredth time that day, Raven tossed her book down on her chair and strode out through the shiny metal doors to retrieve their leader from his room.

Despite the warm aromas of good food and his lovely chef's hat, Cyborg's smile dropped into a small worried frown as he watched the graceful mystic leave. He hated doing this to the poor girl. He knew that it was painful for her to pry Robin from his room and work. But even though the task of drawing the masked lad out into sunlight and away from working always ended up in numerous verbal assaults directed at Raven, he would end up coming down. He only listened to her these days, he only responded to her words. The others had tried, but all they got was a cutting remark and a door slammed in the face. A yell sounded from down the hall and Cyborg's heart bled. Robin didn't know the effect his words had on Raven; he didn't know how much she cared for him. Cyborg didn't even think that Raven knew just how much she cared. A light bulb shattered above him and glass rained down on to the cyborg's broad shoulders. Robin had gone too far, Cyborg noted. Raven rarely let her emotions out of hand anymore since Trigon's death, but if they did get destructive there was always a good reason for it. And Robin yelling at her like he did was reason enough to blow up the entire tower.

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Raven knocked softly on the door marked "Robin." When all she heard were soft grunts and a squeaky chain from behind the door, Raven knocked again, louder this time. The sounds stopped and Robin appeared in the doorway, breathing hard and dripping sweat.

"May I come in?" She spoke softly to him. Robin shrugged indifferently and stepped aside to allow the dark sorceress passage into the room. Raven's jaw almost dropped as she stared at Robin's normally spotless room. A splintered bed frame sat in one corner, the windows were merely plastic garbage bags duct taped to the window and the floor was stained and covered with who knows what else. Robin's canvas punching bag was covered in duct tape and was still swinging freely from its chain. Behind it a bare mattress was jammed into the corner. She noted that the phone was still intact, sitting on a dented metal chair. "Been remodeling?" She remarked dryly. Robin barked a laugh.

"Hardly." He said in a hoarse voice, swinging a fist at the punching bag. Something he'd been doing a lot, apparently. The bag exploded in an eruption of sawdust. "Dammit." Robin swore softly, coughing.

Raven took her cloak from in front of her face, coughing as well. "I just came to tell you that it's dinner time. Cyborg sent me."

"I'm not hungry." The same hollow voice replied as the masked boy angrily kicked the shreds of canvas into the corner with his former bed.

"Robin, be sensible! You haven't eaten since breakfast. Besides, I let you slide last night by pretending to bring you dinner. You owe me." Raven put her hands on her hips angrily. Robin simply snorted.

"I don't _owe _you anything Raven." He said acidly. "If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be alive." Raven flinched. Every time she tried to talk to him, he started this. And every time he reduced her to near-tears. But never had he gone so far as to itemize her life. Raven's breath rattled in her lungs as she tried to prepare herself for the barrage of assaults yet to come. "And don't even think about bringing up how you saved me from Slade's hallucinating dust. You shouldn't have even been alive. But I saved you before that day too. Me, Robin, you're alive because of me." He spat out. "If anything, **you** owe **me**." His eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms as he shouted the last part.

Raven spoke in a thin, strained voice. "When my father took over, I gave my **life** to keep all of you safe. I went to Slade so you wouldn't die. I sacrificed myself to keep you alive. And all those times you 'saved' me? Just you jumping off a building with a hook shot. Everyday stuff for you. No sacrifice at all." Robin glared at her as she tried to stay composed and keep the tears that threatened to spill from doing just that.

"Some world you left us. Lava lakes, stone people, and your daddy dearest to watch over us. Never told you this before, but thanks a lot! It was a great place to live." Sarcasm oozed from his harsh words. Raven's eyes shot open and she heard tinkling glass from the direction of the kitchen but she didn't care.

"You don't even care that I would give my life for you, Richard Grayson. That I DID give my life for you…" Her words were but a whisper and Robin appeared unfazed by the use of his real name as he sneered at her.

"You're still alive Raven. So what if you gave your life? You came back as a child. And I rescued you even then." He growled. "But if you're this ungrateful, maybe I should have just left you down there to rot." The phone rang just then and Robin jumped. "Now leave." He hissed, shoving her roughly out the door.

Raven fell back against the wall in shock. Leave her to rot? He _regretted _saving her? "No…" she whispered in disbelief. He would never say that to her. They were best friends, right? "Something must be wrong." Raven crawled to the door and pressed her ear up against it. His voice was raw through the metal and Raven could only catch some of his half of the conversation.

"No… Anything to help… better, are you sure? How did it happen? …cure… How long?" Nothing useful at the moment, Raven concluded as she sat back against the opposite wall, still shocked from Robin's earlier words. At that point Robin's door flew open to reveal a very distraught boy wonder. Tears leaked out from beneath the edges of his mask. He glanced at her on the floor across from him and his expression became even more pained. He mouthed her name before turning and sprinting down the hall. Raven stared after him, speechless. Slowly she rose to her feet and walked back to her room, ignoring the inviting smells of steak and potatoes and the warm laughter from the kitchen area.

Something was obviously wrong with Robin. Raven floated over to her window and looked out to the calm bay waters. When Slade died, he became restless, but that was to be expected. Then the phone calls started coming, and Robin withdrew from his friends, lashing out at Raven whenever the chance presented itself, something he wouldn't normally do. Usually she and Robin got along just fine; she was his favorite among the titans, his best friend. But now, now it was different. Everything had changed from that first call.

The usual soothing effect of the rolling waters was lost to the cloaked girl as she watched a lithe figure clad in sweatpants and a mask sit on a rock in the smooth sands. He was writing a letter of some sorts.

"Oh Robin…" Raven murmured. "Why can't things be better… why do you have to hurt me so…" It hurt Raven to see him like this, almost as much as it hurt to have him constantly cutting into her. After Slade left, Robin was constantly working; never resting, large bags had formed under his eyes. Then the phone calls started to come and he became bitter. Always locked in his room, Robin came out for meals sometimes and to vent frustration on the occasional thief. This was the first time, Raven thought, that Robin was doing something calm…

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The cool sand felt nice under his feet as Robin sat on the bay shore. He removed a pen and pad of paper and began to write a letter. A letter for Raven. An apology.

Day to day Robin could feel himself slipping from sanity. Slade had kept him busy, kept him sane in a way much like Raven did nowadays. She was the only one who even attempted to talk to him like he was normal, the only one who cared for him and made sure he ate something each day, made sure he slept at night. But he couldn't lean on Raven forever, and so he lashed out at her with sharp words and cutting remarks. He wanted her company, he really did, but it was a reaction out of his control. Something he couldn't stop. His insanity. Slade's mastermind had kept him busy, kept him guessing, given him a purpose in a way. But with Slade's death had gone the brains behind every other "dangerous" criminal's plans, and now all there was to stop was greedy thieves and former "dangerous" enemies that just felt like destroying something.

Nowadays, it was the intense stress he was constantly under and his inability to properly look after himself. Raven kept him alive, taking each day at a time. He acted like he didn't need her, like he didn't want her. But he needed her in so many ways. To make him bathe, to make him eat, sleep, to make him live. Raven's care, something to cancel out the phone call he expected everyday. She was the one expected to go insane before anyone else, her demon heritage that was going to split them up. But it was him, Robin realized. He was going to be the downfall. His sanity or lack thereof.

"Why do I have to do this? Why do I have to kill Raven from the inside out?" He asked himself as he stared blankly into the dark waters. "Hmm, now I really sound like a crazy person..." Robin spoke to himself again, a bitter laugh catching in his throat. A sudden surge of anger coursed through his veins as fury overtook him. His fingers found a baseball-sized rock and he hurled it at the tower with all his might. A window shattered in the distance and Robin faintly heard a soft cry. "Oh shit…" His anger left as the color drained from his face. Robin abandoned his pen and paper, thoughts concentrated on Raven and her window he had just smashed.

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Raven slowly picked herself off the ground, shoulder throbbing. Glass crunched under her socked feet as she gradually made her way to the bathroom. The mirror showed her a depleted image of herself.

Her once bright lavender eyes were now lined with dark bags and were a dull purple. Her skin had lost its pale glow and she looked exhausted, both physically and emotionally. "Damn you Robin…" Raven muttered. She shifted her focus to her aching shoulder to assess the damage. The pale girl rolled up her sleeve and painfully began picking out the shards of glass from the multiple bleeding cuts.

Robin burst through the door with a loud bang as he sped towards Raven in her bathroom, his hair sticking up everywhere, making him look crazy. "Raven I'm so sorry! Oh man, I didn't mean to hit you! I was mad and I threw a rock I didn't think it would break a window especially not yours I'm so sorry!" Words spilled from his mouth. Raven pulled out the last piece of glass before turning her head to face him.

"Exactly." She returned laconically. Robin looked puzzled. "You don't think. You speak first and then, MAYBE, you think about what your words mean to someone and how they can hurt more than glass being driven into your body by some damn rock." Her tone was cool, but her eyes reflected fire. Robin winced at the hurt and anger he saw, but mostly because he had done all of this to Raven.

"I'm sorry." The dejected boy wonder hung his head. "So sorry Rae." The automatic metal door slid closed as Robin trudged out of the room. Raven's anger left as she looked back at her mirror. Robin was… well, she didn't know what he was, rather, who he was anymore. The Robin that she knew had left. For forever, she did not know. But he was hiding. And she wanted nothing more than to find him.

Raven's stomach growled at her, breaking off her thoughts. Well, the bleeding had stopped and her demon blood could take care of the rest, she decided. The mystic took one last glance at her mirror before turning and heading down to the kitchen.

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The microwave dinged at her and Raven stood to retrieve her leftover soup from the beeping appliance. Breathing in the comforting aroma of the beef and vegetable soup, Raven sat down at the bar counter again with her soup and tea. She was about to give a spoonful of it to her rumbling stomach when the metal doors announced the arrival of the person she did not want to see just then.

"Oh. Didn't think you'd be here." Robin stated as he opened the refrigerator.

"Nice to see you too…" Raven said into her soup. The top of Robin's head was poking up from the top of the white refrigerator door as he searched for something to eat.

"Is there anything to eat around here?" Robin groaned, coming up from his futile search of the fridge.

"There should be some sandwich stuff somewhere unless you want leftovers from the past week."

"There were leftovers? With Cyborg around?" Robin said incredulously. Raven looked back down to the dark swirls of soup.

"It was supposed to be your food." She said quietly. Robin didn't say anything. He bit his lip and looked like he was about to say something, but instead returned to his search for food. He returned with an armful of various meats and cheeses with some bread and set them down across from Raven on the bar counter.

They sat in silence, Raven still sipping on her tea and Robin quietly consuming his sandwich. Robin finally broke the silence.

"Raven." She didn't look at him. "How is everyone?" He asked quietly.

"Worried." Raven dropped her spoon into the bowl with a clang, finally turning to look at Robin. "You've been locked in your room since those stupid phone calls started coming. Nobody knows how you've been or what you're doing. The only reason they don't come in and break down the door is because I talk to you everyday and take insults from you everyday. They only know you're still alive because when I come back from trying to make you eat, I'm a complete mess! Do you even know the effect your absence is having on everyone? Starfire misses you, Cyborg misses you, Beast Boy misses you, hell, even **I** even miss you!" Raven ranted. Robin was about to object to the fact that she missed him when she started again. "And don't say that I see you everyday! You know what I mean. You. The real you. Not this Robin." Robin had to strain to hear the last few words.

"First of all, those phone calls are NOT stupid. You don't even know what they're about. So DON'T bring them up right now." He glared at her. "And secondly, why do people miss me? All I've done since Slade died is be mean and slam doors in their faces. Why should anybody care about me?"

"Because we're your friends Robin." The telephone suddenly rang and the color drained from Robin's face. Raven noted this and said, "I'll get it." Robin sat in silence, fearing the worst. "It's for you. Do you want me to tell them you're not here?" Raven asked in concern. Robin shook his head, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

"No." He said in a low voice. "I have to do this." With a deep breath, Robin walked over to Raven and took the phone from her hand. She looked straight into his eyes and Robin felt almost overwhelmed at the care and concern he saw in them.

"You can do this Robin. I know you can." Raven squeezed his hand and walked to the couch to wait for him. Robin felt her lingering touch as he watched the lithe beauty walk with catlike grace over to the couch where she stood, keeping her eyes on him. He sighed and put the receiver to his ear.

"Hello?"

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Raven watched in confusion. Robin was finishing up the phone call and his face betrayed no emotion. "Alright. Thank you. Goodnight." Robin hung up and walked over, standing next to Raven as the moon shone through the window, bathing them in its milky glow. "He's gone." Tears glistened in the moonlight as they slid down Robin's pale cheeks.

"Are you okay?" Raven asked gently, putting a hand on his cheek and wiping a tear away. Robin melted at her touch, pulling her to him in a hug. Raven stiffened but decided Robin needed comfort, and she was all he had. He shook as he held her close to his body, and Raven held him tight as the warm tears spilled from his eyes.

"He's dead, Rae." Robin whispered. "Bruce is dead." Raven's eyes shot open at this piece of news. "He's gone forever. Forever…" Robin held her tighter to him and Raven stood with him, his pain washing over her in waves as it radiated off of his body. And that's where they stood for what seemed like forever, both in each others arms sharing the pain of a lost life. The moon slid behind the clouds that were rolling in and Raven guided Robin down to sit on the couch. The tears had subsided, but were still rolling down Robin's glistening cheeks as he rested his head on Raven's shoulder. Soon sleep overtook Robin, the exhaustion from the emotional turmoil finally claiming him. Raven sat in the dark for awhile, thinking.

Bruce must have been sick for awhile if Robin already knew the phone call was going to be bad. No wonder he had been so unlike himself, Raven though, absentmindedly stroking Robin's messy black hair. His head was now resting on her lap, his body curled up next to her on the couch. His breathing was soft and Raven found it comforting to listen to his even breathes, to watch his chest rise and fall with each drop of life he took from the air. Raven's eyelids began to droop, and she levitated a blanket over to her and Robin on the couch before she too slipped into a deep and much needed rest.

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Cyborg woke up early the next day to get out of the tower to take his neglected baby for a spin. But upon entering the kitchen for a hearty breakfast, he nearly fell over at the sight before him.

Raven was lying on the couch, using her arm as a pillow. Robin was behind her, his head resting on her stomach while holding her free hand with one of his own. The large cotton blanket they kept in the living room covered them and both looked thoroughly worn out, but peaceful nonetheless. Still, to see the two bickering birds snuggled up like this on the couch was a weird sight. Robin started to stir and Cyborg decided it was best to get out and let the two sort out what was going on without the knowledge that he had seen them like this. The large metal man quickly snapped some photos of the two in their possibly last peaceful moments before charging out the door.

Robin gave a soft moan as he sat up and stretched. Cracking his neck, he swung his feet off the couch edge and sat there, thinking. The events from the previous night came crashing back down on him full force, and Robin fell back on the couch in despair. Raven was still sleeping softly on the couch, shivering. The masked boy looked at her with a hint of guilt. He had been taking up most of the blanket last night… "Whoa." Robin whispered. He and Raven had slept on the couch together… He quickly squashed the small smile that threatened to make its way onto his face. "It was nothing. We just happened to fall asleep together after my little crying..." Now that didn't sound very manly. "Umm, after my reaction to death." There, that sounded better, hopefully. Robin chanced another look at Raven. The sleeping raven was still shivering. Now Robin allowed a small smile to grace his face. She looked so innocent and sweet in her sleep. "She is anyways." He whispered to his thoughts. With a sad smile, Robin stood and pulled the blanket up over Raven's shoulders. Crouching down beside her head, Robin smiled again. Here was his beacon of light in the darkness, the resident dark girl of the tower. Ironic, isn't it? The pale hand he held in his own was still cold, and Robin removed his cape from his back and stretched it out over Raven's small frame. With one last smile, perhaps the most he'd ever smiled in the past few months, Robin kissed his beacon of light on the forehead, a soft reminder of his connection to his little savior. Tucking her small hand under his cape, the emptiness of death fell back on Robin as he broke contact with his raven, and he walked through the metal doors. Some say it was his last act of sanity, but others knew better.

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Raven woke a few minutes after Robin left. She noted his absence almost immediately and she sprang up, worried about what state of mind her friend was in at the moment. Then she caught site of his cape still draped over her shoulders. Raven took the soft fabric in her fingers, holding it tight and allowing herself to sit back down on the couch. Common sense told her he just needed time, and even though her heart wanted to go to him, she knew how important time, and space, was to the unstable individual. After all, that was once her.

"Where is Robin? He has not been out of his room this whole day. Usually he comes to eat breakfast with us, but today he did not come to fight the Johnny Rancid with us." Starfire spoke from the couch where Beast Boy was aimlessly flipping through the channels. "Why does Robin not come out to talk to us or partake in the consuming of food?"

"Yeah man. Why does he only talk to Raven?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg was silent for a moment, a conclusion from earlier still hanging in the air. Just then, Raven walked into the room, looking a bit better and more rested than she had in the past few weeks. The three other resident Titans stared as she silently went about making her tea.

"What?" She monotoned, staring right back at the others.

"Where is Robin?" Starfire asked again. Raven sighed and looked into her tea, wondering if she should tell them. They deserved to know, but it could be a violation of Robin's privacy.

"Robin's in his room. He received some information last night that he needs to think about. There are some decisions he was presented with, and he needs to decide what to do about those, too." Raven spoke slowly and carefully, making sure not to reveal too much but to still give the others a hint of Robin's whereabouts and activities. "He needs some space right now, so-"

"He's had space for months now." Beast Boy retorted. "You're the only one he ever talks to." Raven glared at the green boy's bitter tone. "What 'information' are you talking about anyway? We should be able to know. He's our friend too, or did you forget that you're not the only person he likes?"

Raven shut her eyes, desperately trying to resist the temptation of mutilating Beast Boy. Ignoring his cut at her "selfishness" with Robin, Raven opened her eyes again to Starfire's voice.

"Yes, what did happen last night that could cause Robin to not partake in the battling against villains?" Starfire questioned. Raven sighed again, this would not be easy. How she wished Robin was here to support her, but instead, she looked to Cyborg, who nodded at her. He wanted to know too.

"I don't know if I can tell you." Raven sank into a chair. "I don't know if Robin wants you to know yet. I was with him by coincidence-" Beast Boy snorted. Raven glared at him before continuing. "-and that's why I know what's going on." She finished her little speech. "Now, unless anybody else wants to insult me," She looked pointedly at Beast Boy, "I am going to get some fresh air." Raven stood up and walked over to the coffee table to grab a book before leaving, making sure to smack Beast Boy on the back of the head as she left.

"Hey!" He looked ready to say something else but was silenced by a meaningful glance from Cyborg. Beast Boy frowned then dropped back onto the couch, muttering about evil zombies taking over his friends on a wild rampage to try and get him. Cyborg rolled his eyes and Starfire smacked Beast Boy on the back of the head like Raven had, but with her alien strength, Beast Boy flew off the couch onto the floor behind it. "What was that for!" He came up rubbing the back of his head, squinting at Starfire with one eye closed.

"It looked like fun." She said condescendingly, like it was weird that he didn't know that. Beast Boy groaned and glared at Cyborg, who looked ready to explode from holding in his laughter. From Starfire or just because Beast Boy looked so ridiculous when he tried to glare, he didn't know. The sink faucet suddenly flew off and clanked Beast Boy in the back of the head and water spewed everywhere.

"Thanks Raven." The green boy said in a weird voice before falling over. Cyborg sighed. There was going to be a long road back to recovery for the dark girl. The metal man swore loudly as more water gushed from the broken pipe and he ran over to stop the flow.

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The cloudy gray sky matched Raven's mood. The dark waters quietly lapped the sandy beach, a perfect atmosphere to catch up on her reading. Settling down on a rock, Raven opened her book but stopped. A pen and pad of paper were lying facedown on the ground, abandoned. It didn't take long to realize where they were from. They were Robin's. Raven reached down to pick them up off the ground.

"I wouldn't touch those if I were you." A soft voice said from behind her. Raven dropped her book in the sand and whipped around. Robin walked to her side, staring out at the water. "Relaxing, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Raven turned her surprised gaze back to the waters, sinking into the cold sand as she did. Robin sat beside her.

"Um, I owe you an apology." Robin stuttered. "I didn't come to the battle or come out at all to talk because I thought you were going to tell everyone about what happened. I didn't want the sympathy; I didn't want to talk to anyone."

"That's understandable Robin." Raven said, still confused as to what apology he owed her. Robin shook his head.

"No, it's not that. I didn't trust you with my secret, so I avoided you. I should have trusted you though, Raven. So, thank you for not telling everyone. I heard what you said." Robin offered her a small smile which Raven returned with one of her own.

"It's the least I could do after what you've been going through." Raven replied softly. Robin wrapped an arm around her slim shoulders, hugging her close to him. Without thinking twice, Raven leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry." She said gently. "I don't know what it's like to lose a loved one, but I can only imagine it would be like losing you. I mean one of you guys." Raven quickly caught herself. Robin didn't seem to notice.

"Thank you." Robin sighed. "He's been sick for awhile, so it was bound to come sooner or later. Even though I was expecting it, it still threw me off, you know?"

"Even though you expect the expected, you can't imagine the emotion that comes with it. With the unexpected, the initial surprise that everyone has dealt with at some time or the other absorbs some of the shock,-" Raven started.

"-and then the unexpected is easier than the expected." Robin finished for her. Silence settled in around the two birds leaning against the large rock, Robin's arm still around Raven and her head still resting on his shoulder.

Cyborg watched from the window, confused. Usually they were arguing and throwing cuts at each other, but now, together? And what had happened last night… "Gah…" Cyborg muttered.

"What was that friend?" Starfire asked as she came up beside him and placed her hand on his shoulder. Cyborg started and quickly blocked the window with his body.

"Oh, hey Star. Nothing, just thinking." Starfire nodded gravely.

"Yes. I have been thinking as well. Robin, correct?" She questioned. Cyborg nodded. Starfire sighed. "Our friend is going through troubled times, and it is agreed that it is because of the death of the evil Slade and the um, lessening of the crimes, yes?" Cyborg nodded again. "Robin is restless. He misses chasing after a criminal with the smarts. All other people who we must fight these days are 'stupid' and do not posses the smarts which Slade had. Robin needs more than empty-minded 'Neanderthals' to fight-" Raven must have taught her that word, Cyborg thought with a mental chuckle, "-and so he applies himself most diligently to working on many things. Robin needs time to heal. Although Slade's death is something to do the celebrating with waffles, there is a healing period involved, yes? As with all things that come to an end. Robin needs to learn to vent his um, frustration in a more productive way. He used to take it out on Slade and on working all the time towards getting Slade, but without that outlet, as you say, Robin has not yet found his 'groove.' He has feelings for Raven, yes?" Cyborg didn't answer this, he only knew of Raven to Robin, not vice versa. But after this speech, Starfire was probably right. She continued, "So Robin vents upon Raven. She likes him as well, and it is hurting her, and Robin knows this, but he knows not how to vent yet. He is still healing. And whatever happened last night, it has brought our two friends closer."

"What makes you say that, Star?" Cyborg tried to lead her away from the window.

"I see them too, Cyborg." Starfire said in a serious voice. "But what happened last night has also affected Robin in another way, a way I have not yet figured out. But I believe Raven when she says that she was there by coincidence. It is good she was too, or Robin might have handled that news differently. For now, we must give Robin time, space, and Raven. Beast Boy is not being of the matureness, I believe he is a bit jealous of Robin, but he too will heal. We all will." Starfire finished. Cyborg smiled at the redhead warmly. The girl really knew a lot more than she was given credit for.

"You're right Star. You always were. C'mon, I need some help with dinner." Cyborg placed a hand on her thin shoulder, a warm smile still on his face. Starfire beamed back at him and the two retreated from the window into the kitchen, both on the lookout for Beast Boy incase they needed to divert his attention from the window.

"It's getting late, we should head back inside." Robin helped Raven up from the sand. "Go ahead; I'll catch up in a bit." Robin scooped Raven's book up off the ground and handed it to her with a smile. Raven smiled back and began the walk back up to the tower. Robin's smile fell from his face as soon as the lithe mystic disappeared into the tower. Though it appeared Robin was handling the situation quite well, it was tearing him up inside. Bottled up fear, anger, pain, it all added up. Each little thing a piece of sharp glass, seemingly too small to matter, but big enough to cut and destroy from the inside out. And the glass brought blood, and blood brought anger. Blinding anger that blocks out all common sense and reason, but most importantly, anger that overtook sanity. Anger that would destroy Robin in time.

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Raven returned to the kitchen with the others where Starfire and Cyborg were busily preparing a heap of waffles. "What's the occasion?" Raven asked. Starfire looked up and smiled, bouncing over to where her friend stood in the doorway.

"There is no need for a reason to celebrate friend! We are merely being merry! Where is Robin? We do not want him to miss this feast of waffles and other delicious delicacies such as the mustard and syrup!" The bubbly girl chirped. A ghost of a smile graced Raven's face at Starfire's happiness, especially when she had been surrounded by negative emotions for so long.

"He said he was coming, but I don't know if that was just a lie to get me to leave." Raven said, allowing that conclusion to come to her as unwanted as it was. She didn't trust Robin's attitude towards his foster father's death and she still worried about what condition his mind was in. But she felt certain she would soon find out exactly how Robin was taking the situation; he couldn't keep himself controlled forever. "I'll go check his room and see if he's there. You guys go ahead and start without us."

"No Raven." Starfire surprised even herself with her reply. "Let us leave Robin to himself for the night. I think that he needs some 'alone time' for now. We will check on him tomorrow, yes?" Raven was surprised, but she didn't say no. Even after Robin and her time together, she still felt the blow of his words from the other day.

Raven sat down on a chair with her book while the others continued to fill the multiple dishes with waffles and other breakfast items galore, save Beast Boy who had been confined to his own corner of the kitchen to make his "nasty, smelly, crappy poser of a food item" as Cyborg so delicately put it. Soon their 'feast' was ready and the four Titans sat down to eat.

It had been three days since Raven, since anybody had last seen Robin. They left food out by his door at every meal and most of the time he would eat some of it. Starfire had continued with her theory that he needed time, but by the third day even she thought that somebody should go check on him. And guess who that person was…

The halls were dark despite the sun that had decided to show itself in the last hours of the day. No sounds emitted from behind Robin's door, filling Raven with a sense of dread. Usually he would be beating up on something, his destructive nature taking control of his anger, but like the last few days, nothing. Or so the others told her. Cyborg hadn't let her go near Robin's door for the past three days, claiming she needed time to recover as well. Raven put her ear to the cool metal for a sign of his existence, but none came. The quiet sound of a delicate knocking broke the tangible silence of the hallways, however Robin made no reply. Raven tried knocking again, but to no avail. Finally she just let herself in, opening the door ever so slowly to reveal the sight of a broken boy wonder.

"Robin…" Raven whispered. The boy made no reply. She stepped closer. There was a blank stare on his face, his hair sticking up every which way and he was sitting in the same rumpled clothes he wore on the beach with her three days back. His ankles had dried blood on them, and scars from where his fingernails clutched his ankles. In other words, Robin did NOT look good. He hadn't for awhile, but this really did it. "Robin!" Raven choked on his name, falling to her knees beside him. "Snap out of it, Robin." She placed a hand on his shoulder and felt him quiver under his touch. As if possessed, his head slowly and mechanically turned to face her, the same blank stare in place. "I knew we shouldn't have left you alone…" Raven felt the familiar heat in her eyes, the familiar lump in her throat, but she refused to cry. Not now, not when Robin needed strength. "Come on Robin, snap out of it! This isn't you!" Raven shook his shoulders and she swear she saw a blink behind that mask of his.

"Raven?" A dry voice whispered. A ghost of a smile crept onto Raven's face. She nodded, sitting back on her heels.

"Yeah Robin. It's me." Robin shook his head slowly, as if waking up from a deep sleep. A deep sleep he almost didn't return from. "Let's go." Raven said, gesturing to his cracked door.

"I can't go back out there, Raven. I can't." Robin said in a low voice. "It's too much. I can't. Nobody can see. Nobody can know." Raven sighed, the pity for her best friend building up with the pain she felt seeing him like this.

"You can." Raven forced herself to sound optimistic. "You're Robin! You can do anything! You're the best of the best, nothing can bring you down. You're the amazing, fearless leader of the Teen Titans. Nobody can beat you, not even death." But her attempt at a pep talk did nothing more than sink the boy wonder further into despair.

"I can't, Raven. You know I can't. I was all those things, but now I'm not. Everything is against me, nothing won't hurt me." He said darkly.

"Don't be so negative, Robin!" Wow, who was she to say that? Oh well… "Everything is going to be alright Robin, I promise. It's all going to turn out okay."

"Promise?" A spark of hope lit up Robin's face for a moment, almost too small to notice. Raven nodded, standing up and offering Robin a hand.

"Promise."

Starfire immediately rushed over and was about to crush Robin in a hug, but Raven gave her a warning glare and instead she delicately embraced him. "It is good to see you well dear friend! Let us go and celebrate with an outing to the place of pizza!" This was received with smiles; Robin even decided to let a small smile out, and this only made everyone else's even brighter.

The large pizzas in front of the teens were about half gone when Robin's communicator gave a little ring. He paled, and Raven bit her lip. What if everything turned out to not be okay? She didn't want Robin's reaction to that, especially if it involved a certain broken promise. She levitated his communicator over to her hand and flipped it open to the face of a sympathetic nurse. "Yes?" Raven choked.

"Is he there?" The nurse was a smart one. Raven nodded and gave a questioning look that the nurse immediately picked up on. She sadly shook her head. Robin gently pried the yellow compact from Raven's hand and looked into it.

"I'll be right back." Robin said hollowly, walking outside of the pizza parlor.

"Oh no…" Raven muttered. "I promised him everything would be okay; I didn't think something else would come up so soon." She buried her head in her arms. Cyborg sympathetically patted her on the back.

"C'mon Rae, how can he do something to you? You're the only one he cares about nowadays. He wouldn't hurt you." But there was a hint of doubt in Cyborg's voice. A feeling of dread always formed in the pit of his stomach whenever Raven went to Robin. First there were all the verbal assaults, but it was only a matter of time till it got physical, and Cyborg didn't want Raven getting hurt more than she already was.

Raven didn't look up when Robin walked back over. He gave her a cold glare that only Cyborg noticed, one filled with pain and betrayal, though it was hard to tell through the mask. "I'm going home. I'll see you guys back at the tower." A blur of red was followed by a loud roar as Robin and motorcycle shot off towards the island. Raven lifted her head and looked at Cyborg who had fear in his eyes when he looked at her.

"I need to talk to him." She decided, standing. Cyborg jumped up along with Starfire who had most likely also seen the look on Robin's face. She was pretty smart.

"No Raven. Please, let me come with you." Starfire spoke. Cyborg nodded vigorously.

"I don't want you with him alone in the tower, Rae. You should have seen the look he gave you when he left." Cyborg whispered just so Starfire and Raven could hear. Beast Boy continued eating his pizza, a small scowl on his face as he listened to the others muttering, trying to convince Raven not to do something.

'Maybe she and Robin want to get married!' Beast Boy suddenly thought, a _very_ dim light bulb flashing above his head. 'Or maybe they're gonna do something bad and Cy and Star don't want them too…' Jealousy once again filled the already green boy. 'Why is it always Robin and Raven? Why does he get her…?' He looked up to see Raven flying off after Robin. Cyborg grabbed Starfire's foot as she tried to stop Raven.

"Let her go, Star. Raven has to do this alone. I don't like it, but maybe it won't turn out so bad after all." Doubt still filled his voice, though, and Starfire didn't look convinced either.

"I do hope so, friend. But still, I fear the worst for Robin and Raven." Starfire whispered.

"Uh, guys?" Beast Boy ventured, a plan hatching in his mind. "I'm gonna go to the arcade. I have a, uh, game match thing set in a little while and I, um, wanna go and get some practice before! I'll see you at the tower." Cyborg grunted an indifferent, indistinguishable reply.

"May the force be with you friend! We shall see you back at the tower for dinner, yes?" Starfire chirped. Cyborg had made her watch Star Wars the other night… Beast Boy nodded and stifled a laugh. Turning to the door, he strode out and headed to the arcade, but doubled back and turned to a fly, zooming towards the tower to see what exactly the two birds were up to.

"Let us give our friends time to 'simmer down', yes?" Starfire asked Cyborg as he finished up the last of his triple meat pizza.

"I think they're showing some new movies at the theater, wanna come with me?" Cyborg asked, hiding a small blush. Starfire shyly smiled at him and nodded.

"That would be most enjoyable Cyborg." She said bashfully. Cyborg grinned confidently and the two walked down to the theatre, thinking Beast Boy wouldn't be back till dinner, so that gave their other friends some time to settle their differences in, hopefully, a nonphysical way.

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Raven burst through the door to the gym to find Robin beating the living, well, nonliving daylights out of a punching bag, two others already broken on the ground, sawdust and sand littering the floor. He turned to face her when he heard the door, and his eyes narrowed as he slowly and deliberately walked over to her. "Liar." He hissed. Raven lowered her eyes from his betrayed stare.

"Robin, I am so sorry. I didn't think that something would come up so soon." She put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off.

"Well you know what Raven? It _wasn't_ ok. First Bruce, now you know who else is dead? Alfred. He was a grandfather to me, and now he's dead too. Some bastards decided it would be fun to try and steal some of Bruce's stuff since he's _dead _and Alfred was in the house cleaning when they came and they shot him in the head seventeen times. How's that for _okay_?" Robin grabbed Raven's arm and pulled her close to his face. "Huh, Raven?"

"I said I was sorry!" Raven tried to push him away from her, but he caught her wrists in his. Putting both of them in one hand, he growled. Raven watched him with fearful eyes, trying to escape his iron grip.

"Sorry just isn't good enough these days, Raven. I said sorry, you were still mad at me. You're saying sorry, and you know what? It just isn't gonna cut it." Raven felt her jaw pop as Robin landed a hard blow on her right cheek, sending her flying out of his hand and sliding over sand on the floor.

"Robin! I can't control what-" Robin picked her up by the neck and threw her back against the wall. Raven felt a stream of blood begin to trickle down the back of her neck as well as well as from the corner of her mouth. Raven dizzily stood back up, fighting the nausea that threatened to overtake her. "I'm sorry!" She ducked another punch as Robin's fist connected with the wall, behind her. He swung his other fist at her face and Raven fell to the ground to avoid it, rolling as his feet threatened to connect with her body.

"Like I said before Raven, sorry just isn't good enough!" Robin ran at her, removing a bird-a-rang as he went. Raven's eyes shot open. Anger had finally taken him.

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Beast Boy flew as fast as he could to the tower, his animal instinct telling him that something very bad was about to happen. Deciding that he was far enough away from the other two to not be noticed, he morphed into a green eagle and surged forward across the bay, now truly scared for Raven. "Dude if Robin hurts her I'm gonna kick his ass to next Tuesday…" The eagle muttered. Beast Boy landed on the roof of the tower, falling to the ground in a roll before a green cheetah crashed through the rooftop door and bounded down the stairs. 'C'mon, where are you…' The normally light-hearted Titan screeched to a stop outside the living room and began sniffing the ground as a wolf. Letting up a quiet howl, Beast Boy charged towards the gym, still fearing the worst for Raven.

Being smart for once, the green wolf became a bug and scuttled under the door. Robin was struggling to stand up and Raven was lying unconscious in a small pool of blood by the wall. Robin's left eye was almost swollen shut and his knuckles were bloody. There was a small rip on his shirt, but other than that, Robin was fine. It was Raven that wasn't.

The lavender haired girl had a large gash across the left side of her face and it was still bleeding freely. An arm of her shirt had been ripped off completely to reveal another series of bleeding cuts, though those were mere trickles compared to her stained face. A large tear ran across her shirt, revealing her pale, bruised stomach underneath. Her pants had a series of slashes in them and blood was seeping out from beneath the fabric. Raven's breathing was shallow and a steady stream of rusty liquid flowed from her mouth. Beast Boy turned to a human and sprinted to her side.

"What have you done!" He screamed at Robin, tears threatening to spill from his large emerald eyes. Robin looked at him dizzily, shifting his cloudy gaze to the girl on the floor beside Beast Boy.

"Raven…" Robin mumbled, staggering over to her. "I'm so sorry…" He whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. "But sorry isn't good enough." Then the Titan's leader fainted, falling to the ground beside Raven. Beast Boy rolled him away from the girl, soaking Robin's clothes in her blood in the process.

"Raven, I never would have done this to you. I would never hurt you…" He pushed a lock of blood streaked hair out of her face. "I'm sorry." He took out his communicator and called Cyborg. "Cyborg!" There was no answer. "Cyborg! Starfire!" Beast Boy yelled again, jabbing the trouble button with his thumb. Cyborg and Starfire's faces appeared on the screen, a movie theater concession stand in the background. "Get over to the tower immediately. Raven's hurt." He snapped his communicator shut and turned his focus back on Raven. He ripped the broken punching bag that was on the floor into stretches of cloth that he wrapped around Raven's multiple cuts. "You're gonna be okay, Rae. Don't worry, I got you." Beast Boy picked Raven up bridal style and ran out the door, stopping only to lock Robin inside before charging up to the medical ward. Cyborg and Starfire met him halfway, Starfire screaming at the sight of Raven. Cyborg's face went pale, and then turned a bright red.

"What. Happened." It wasn't a question, it was a command. Beast Boy skidded to a halt in front of the medial ward and Cyborg threw the door open, taking Raven delicately from him as he flew past the green boy into the room. Cyborg busied himself with the multiple machines in the room while Starfire hovered over Raven's body on the hospital bed. "I said, what happened." Cyborg spoke from behind a large computer, not bothering to look at Beast Boy who was still standing in the doorway.

"I don't know." He answered truthfully. "I came back to the tower because I felt something was wrong, and when I got to the gym, Raven was unconscious in a puddle of blood and Robin was there too. He wasn't hurt badly, just a black eye, but he was really out of it. He came over to Raven and said he was sorry, but that sorry wasn't good enough. I don't know what happened though. That's just what I saw." Beast Boy finished, wiping an unseen tear from his eye.

"Why would Robin do such a thing, what is wrong with him?" She said, tenderly pushing the hair from Raven's face, her watery eyes narrow with rage. "Why would anyone hurt our friend…"

"I don't know, but for now, we just need to help Raven. She lost a lot of blood and may have a concussion. Star, I need antiseptics and bandages. Beast Boy, go drag Robin up from the gym, you locked the door right?" Cyborg didn't wait for an answer. "No matter how much we hate him right now, he needs help too. We don't even know what happened and we need his story as well as Raven's when she wakes up."

"If she wakes up…" Beast Boy murmured, already halfway down the hall.

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Raven woke up two days later; Robin had been up since the day after their fight. Cyborg had already forced the story out of an irate Robin and was waiting to get Raven's side of the story as well as see her awake again. Life in the tower had been, well, awkward while Raven was asleep. They had locked Robin in a spare room with only a mattress and a punching bag, since those had been his living conditions before anyways. With Raven awake, they could finally shed some light on the events of their fight. Robin hadn't been much use, claiming he could only remember fighting and seeing Raven unconscious in a pool of her own blood,

"It's good to see you awake, Rae." Cyborg gently hugged the empath. Raven rewarded him with a light smile. "Most of your cuts have cleared up, all except that one on your face…" The gash Raven had obtained from Robin before on the left side of her face had not yet faded; it was still an ugly scar.

"That one is going to heal slowly. But I'm ok." Raven reassured Cyborg and Starfire who had since entered the room. Beast Boy was nowhere to be found.

"So, dear friend, what happened on that most dreadful day in the gym of training?" Starfire sat down on the edge of Raven's bed, question in her tone and a state of perturbation reflected in her face. Raven sighed heavily; clearly she had been expecting this question.

"I guess I can't avoid answering that for any longer, can I?" Raven said with a bitter laugh. And wasting no more time, she launched right into the story.

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"So after he slashed the side of my face with his bird-a-rang, I kicked him in the face, the black eye he has now. But he looked so betrayed that I would hurt him, even after what he was doing to me, that I faltered and he continued attacking me. The rest of it is a fuzzy blur it was happening so fast, but Robin was so angry. I could feel it pouring out of him in waves, it was really overwhelming. But, I honestly think something is wrong with him. Like in his head." Raven tapped the side of her head softly, but enough to get the point through.

"But why didn't you fight back?" Cyborg asked the question that had been bothering him for the past three days. How did Raven come away looking so bad and Robin only had a black eye?

"I was so scared for him. I felt so bad that I had broken my promise that everything was going to be okay that I didn't have the heart to fight back. I couldn't hurt him anymore than I already have in the past week." Raven said quietly. Starfire took Raven's hand and placed her other hand on top of it.

"You have not hurt Robin at all, friend. You have only tried to help, and you have! Robin is not well, and he is the one who has hurt himself, not you. I do not wish to fathom what Robin could have done to himself had not you helped him. Raven, I wish you not blame yourself for anything. Robin needs help, and while we all stood back and watched him hurt, you helped. You are a true friend to Robin, please; do not be hard on yourself Raven." Starfire spoke with compassion and understanding, showing Raven the side she had already revealed to Cyborg. It wasn't all fun and games for Starfire; she saw more than most people did. She understood. "Now we all must help Robin. Though his health and wellbeing is now beyond us, we must still be friend to him and let him know we have not forgotten him. That is all we can do now for Robin. He needs help." Starfire finished. And she was right. She always was.

Raven was out of the medical ward the next day. The day Robin was set to be sent off to Speranza's Hospital for the Mentally Ill. They were all out in the living room, waiting. The doctors at the hospital were expected to be there in a few minutes and everyone was saying their goodbyes to Robin while he was still on some medicine Cyborg had picked up at the hospital, temporary use only.

"Dearest friend, I am most sorry that we must send you away. But do not worry, we will visit and then it will be just like the times of old. Farewell Robin." Starfire bent over to give the shorter boy a light hug before returning to her other friends. Beast Boy stepped up next, still not knowing what to say. He wanted to punch the living daylights out of Robin, to yell at him, to make him feel guilty about what he did to Raven. But he didn't have the heart.

"Bye Beast Boy." Robin whispered. "I'm sorry." Beast Boy lost all urges to hurt him then. All he saw was his friend, his leader, his pal. The one he and Cyborg used to play videogames with, the one he used to have fun with. His friend. With a tear in his eye and a hitch in his voice, Beast Boy high-fived Robin for the last time.

"We'll miss you, man." He sighed. Cyborg came next, slapping Robin on the back.

"Yeah Robin. We'll come visit. See ya bro." Cyborg, too, felt the anger at what had happened to Raven, but now was not the time. That time was missed. Now they all stepped back to watch the last goodbye between the raven and the robin. No bitterness remained between the two, merely a bittersweet taste.

"I'm sorry." Raven said to Robin. A crazed look flashed across his face for a second and Cyborg took a step forward. The medicine's effect was waning. "I hope you'll be okay Robin." Robin calmed down again, Raven's voice a soothing medicine to his warped mind. "And never give up. Never give up Robin. You will always have us. And you will always be in my heart." Raven whispered the last part and only Starfire and Robin heard. Starfire smiled knowingly.

"Raven… there's too much to say." Robin whispered, and only Raven could hear him. Robin felt his heart ache, an unfamiliar feeling coursing through his veins. A lump was forming at the back of his throat. "I, I don't know what I'm feeling, but I'm going to miss you so much." Raven had a very small, very sad smile on her face at his words. "But, I do know I'm sorry. Sorry for hurting you and for hurting myself. I don't know if I could have survived this long without you." The ache in Robin's heart grew to an almost unbearable point, pulling him towards Raven. "I'll miss you, forever. I can't stop missing you. Even when I'm with you. You make me feel so many things at once; I don't know what to call it. But, they're good things." Robin whispered. Raven felt a familiar lump in the back of her throat, and the familiar heat in her eyes. Another crazed look crossed his face, but Robin shook it off. "I don't have enough time, Raven." Robin whispered. A group of doctor dressed in white burst through the door, and in Robin's last moments of clarity, he leaned forward, an epiphany in his heart. His lips found hers for an instant, but as soon as it came, it was gone. The doctors pulled Robin away from her. Raven finally let the tears flow.

"No, Robin!" She reached for him but Cyborg was beside her, pulling her back.

"Let him go, Rae." He said tenderly. Raven wrenched herself from his grasp.

"He can't be gone." Raven ran after the retreating doctors. Robin was yelling and thrashing about, screaming death threats at the doctors who were rushing out the doors, Raven in hot pursuit. "Robin!" Robin stopped his flailing at her voice, only to continue a moment later. Raven was finally within reach of him, and she called his name again. He flipped over in the arms of the doctors and caught site of her face.

"Raven." He mouthed.

"Robin, no!" Raven screamed, the tears streaming down her face as she reached an arm to Robin. Almost there…

"I love you…" Robin whispered. Just as she was about to reach him, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were around her and Robin was gone. The ambulance in front of her zoomed off towards downtown, leaving Raven with an outstretched arm and wet cheeks.

"I love you." She whispered to the air. Only Starfire heard her, but that wasn't who needed to hear it. He who needed to hear those three words most was already gone, lost to the men in white and taken from she who needed him most.

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"It's time to go Raven." Beast Boy knocked on her door, waiting patiently for her to come out. Not long after he knocked, the door slid open. Raven stepped out, dressed in a black skirt and a black shirt with a red rose on the sleeve and the shape of a large white raven spread out across the front of it. She wore a large black cloak over her outfit as well, a shield from the chill winter winds that had begun to blow in from the ocean. "You look nice." Beast Boy complimented warmly, admiring the graceful sorceress.

"Thanks." She smiled a little. "You do too." Beast Boy beamed back. The two walked down to the living room where Starfire and Cyborg were waiting. Cyborg nodded at Beast Boy and the foursome stepped outside and into the T-car, heading downtown to Speranza's Hospital for the Mentally Ill.

The receptionist smiled kindly at them when they stepped into the lobby. Starfire approached the desk and asked, "Excuse me, but where may I find the room of Robin?" The receptionist tapped a few keys on her computer and directed Starfire down a hallway. She returned to the group with a fake smile plastered on her face. "Room 513 down this hallway and to the left."

Robin was sitting back in one corner of the small room, looking thoroughly bored. "Well I guess he's still a little sane." Raven droned from behind the group. They all allowed a slight chuckle to escape them as they opened the door. Robin smiled a little at the sight of his friends who were still laughing a bit. "Hey." Raven said gently.

Every hour some doctor or another would come in and inject Robin with more sedative to keep him calm, and when visiting hours were finally over, the four said goodbye to Robin and left. For about a week, they came everyday. Then it was only Raven and Starfire, and occasionally Cyborg and Beast Boy. Then it was only Raven, the others joining her once a week at best. It was just too much of a hassle for them to keep going back, but Raven never gave up. She was determined to keep going back everyday, and she did.

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"You're late." Robin noted as Raven entered his room. Raven glanced at the clock in the hallway.

"It's 10:07?" Raven ventured. Robin chuckled.

"Yeah, you're seven minutes late Raven." He smiled at her. Raven laughed.

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" Robin shook his head in reply. "Well, how were you in the seven minutes without me?" Raven smiled.

"Dreadful dahling, twas dreadful." Robin exaggerated, putting a hand to his forehead and pretending to fall over from where he sat on the floor. Raven laughed again and sat down beside him.

"Even here you have a sense of humor…" She said quietly. It was Robin's second year at Speranza's and he was doing quite well, for the most part. Raven had continued visiting him everyday, all day unless duty called her away from him. From visiting hours start to end, she was there. Robin did great with her. He was calm, collected, almost like his old self. The doctors had even cut back on his sedative while she was there, but that was the only good news.

At night, without Raven, Robin let bloodcurdling screams loose and he ran around his room kicking and punching the walls and throwing tantrums. The staff even had to move him to a soundproof room away from the other rooms in a different ward of the hospital along with all the other "Class AA Unstable Minds" as the doctors put it. But even though Raven had to walk through a hallway of drooling, screaming, wide-eyed people to get to Robin everyday, she came. Most of the doctors knew her by name, and she them. Even the patients in the hall had stopped leering at her whenever she walked by. She was just another part of their daily routine now, just another part of their lives.

"How's everybody?" Robin asked. The last visit everyone had taken together had been about a month ago and another was due soon, and naturally Robin wanted to have something to talk about when that time came.

"Well, everyone is doing pretty well. I gave Cyborg those car parts you wanted to give him from you and he says thanks." Raven smiled. It was nice to know Robin still remembered their birthdays, Cyborg's had been yesterday. "Starfire took him out to dinner by herself-" Robin laughed, "-and Beast Boy gave him some videogames. Nothing really earth-shattering has happened lately though, but Beast Boy did get Cyborg to eat tofu. Now that was a sight." Raven laughed, reliving the memory.

"I wish I could have been there." Robin sighed. "Oh! I almost forgot! I have something for you." A mischievous smile crept onto Robin's face as he walked over to his bed and pulled something out from under the pillow, hiding it behind his back as he sat back down. Raven glared at him, mocking anger.

"Robin you don't need to get anything for me. It's just nice to come and see you!" Raven frowned. Robin didn't appear to have heard her though.

"Hold out your hands, close your eyes, and you will get a nice surprise!" Robin chortled. Raven sighed and closed her eyes, holding out one hand to see what Robin had in store for her. She felt a long box land in her hand. It felt soft and was long and thin. Raven opened her eyes and looked down at the dark velvet box in awe.

"Robin, you really didn't have to get me anything." Raven looked into Robin's eyes with a serious gaze, but inside, she was delighted.

"Open it!" Robin was apparently very excited about it. With a sigh, Raven slid the top off the box and pulled out a silver necklace. Raven's mouth opened but no words came out. Robin smiled at her reaction. The girl turned the necklace over in her hands, admiring it from every angle.

"It's, it's beautiful, Robin." Raven managed. It was true; the necklace was stunning. It had a silver chain with small amethyst stones protruding from the chain at regular intervals. The charm was a black raven on the front with a ruby eye. On the back of the raven Raven's birth date was inscribed in silver along with her name.

"Happy birthday Raven." Robin smiled. Raven hugged him tightly and put the necklace on. It fit perfectly between her shirt and the piece of black ribbon she wore around her neck. "Perfect." Robin summed it up in one word. They spent the rest of the day talking about random nothings, just like any other day together. When it was time for Raven to go, Robin walked her to the door, like always. They hugged each other goodbye, just like always. "Will you be back tomorrow?" Robin asked.

"Of course." Raven smiled back.

"Promise?"

"Promise." Yep, just like always. But before Raven left the room, Robin stopped her.

"Raven, why did that scar never heal?" Robin touched the left side of her face gently, tracing the line of the scar that ran from above her eyebrow down to her cheekbone. Another scar crisscrossed it at the corner of her eye. Raven gave him a forlorn smile.

"To remind me not to make promises I can't keep."

It was on that fateful night that Raven really got a reminder not to make promises you can't keep. And in her last moments as the bullet pierced her skull right where the two scars crossed, she only thought of Robin, and how she had failed to keep her promise to him once again.

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Starfire slowly put her coat on and prepared to leave the tower. Cyborg came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You sure you want to do this?" He asked gently.

"I have to. Robin needs to know, and Raven can't tell him herself." Starfire hugged Cyborg goodbye and flew to the hospital slowly, dreading the moment she stepped into the lobby. The receptionist greeted her with a smile, as usual. But she looked curious as well.

"Where is Raven?" The receptionist questioned. Starfire felt the salty tears begin to well up in her eyes again, and she merely shook her head. The receptionist looked perplexed as she sat back down and watched the tall redhead make her way down the hall to Robin's room.

"Where is Raven?" Robin asked. How Starfire hated that question! It was all she had been asked for the past day. Starfire stepped inside the white room, but kept the door opened a fraction of an inch incase she needed to escape Robin's rage. Sure, he was on sedatives, but since the hospital had been cutting down on them with Raven coming everyday, she didn't know how strong the effect would be.

"She will not be coming today." Starfire sniffed. Robin grew livid in an instant.

"What?" He yelled. "She promised! She PROMISED!" Robin shouted at the top of his lungs. Starfire shook her head again.

"Our friend is dead, Robin." She said in a calm voice, despite the pain she felt inside. "She was shot last night on her way home from here. A man with too much alcohol had a firearm and shot Raven. She is dead, Robin. She can not come." Starfire felt a tear fall down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away. Robin fell back against the wall in despair. Starfire watched him with curiosity, wondering if it was safe to comfort him as Raven would have done or if it was safer to keep her distance. She decided on the latter, and she was right.

"No!" Robin screamed, leaping up and beginning his run around the room, kicking and punching the walls as he went. Starfire gasped and fell backwards out the door, kicking it closed as she went. A piece of the metal door bulged as Robin continued to shout and yell. Soon the cries subsided, and Starfire peeked into the room. Robin was lying in the middle of the room, shaking. No doubt crying. A few medics came running down the hall and came to a halt behind Starfire.

"What happened?" One demanded. Starfire turned to face the three.

"Our friend Raven has died." She said plainly, tired of repeating it over and over again. Starfire turned around and walked out the door, flying back home as fast as she could, the tears streaming down her face. Her friends, her family, were broken.

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The head doctor watched Robin from the surveillance camera screen in the security room. He was sitting in a corner, talking to himself. The doctor scratched a few notes under those from the previous days. "Curious little fella isn't he?" A security officer asked.

"Very." The doctor replied. "He only has fits when his friend isn't with him, which was at night a month ago. Then after she died, he had fits for maybe a day without her, and then settled back into his normal routine. I don't know what the deal is. It's like he thinks she's with him." The doctor sighed, scratching his thinning head.

"Maybe, she is with him." The officer suggested, a bit mystified. The doctor gave him a questioning look, which he took as an invitation to continue. "Well, everyday I look into this room when visiting hours start and finish, out of habit, you know? I liked seeing the kid's face light up when his friend came. But it still does, even though she's not there, physically." The doctor merely shook his head.

"Out of habit indeed. That could be it." The doctor left the room, muttering under his breath. The security officer shrugged and turned back to watch the black haired boy on the screen.

That doctor was always in here watching him, waiting for him to die. He only expected the boy to live a year, max, after they took him into the hospital, but here he was, alive two years later. The doctor concluded that the presence of his friend had contributed to that and that the boy would die in about a week. Yet again, alive a month later.

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The priest snapped his black bible shut and walked away, leaving three titans to two graves, and one still fresh. No words were exchanged among the friends, merely glances. And, used to death and loss by now, they thought their last goodbyes and walked away. The names 'Raven' and 'Robin' were engraved on the marble headstones at the head of each grave.

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"So, he died?" The same security officer asked the same doctor. The doctor nodded, a perturbed look on his face.

"Yes, he died. His friend held the funeral yesterday. I believe he was buried alongside his friend. I believe they were in love." The officer gave the doctor a strange look. "It's my conclusion as to why he lasted so long. He had something to look forward to everyday, something to live for. Then she died, and he didn't have a purpose, really. Yes he had his other friends, but the bond wasn't as strong. But, you know what they say, true love lives on. So he lived another month or so, but then he died." The officer nodded, clearly accepting this non-medical conclusion. "Now, what was it you wanted to ask?"

"Well, it was really weird. The morning that they found him dead, the guy was sleeping on the floor where he normally sits when he talks to himself. But it was weird." The officer said, doubting his own eyes. "Everything they own in that ward is white to know what they've been doing, to see everything, right? And here he is, lying on the floor with a blanket thing over him. It was the strangest thing!" the officer exclaimed. "But, it wasn't a blanket, you know? Here, let me show you…" the officer pulled up a picture from a previous date and zoomed in on the sleeping boy in the corner. The doctor frowned, thinking.

"Now that, my friend, is a familiar blue cloak." The doctor murmured.

_Unstable minds are never forever gone,_

_Love can always save the hopeless._

_Even when death comes between two,_

_Love can save one from loss of the other._

_And with death comes another journey,_

_A new chance to be with each other._

_And so with his death came adventure,_

_An adventure to life after death,_

_And he went gladly,_

_A familiar blue cloak in tow._

Starfire stared out the window, thinking. The doctor had shown her the picture of Robin dead in the corner. She had smiled too. Raven had loved Robin so much that even though she was dead, she looked after him. She protected him from the cold in his last moments of life before he joined her. These were Starfire's thoughts, and she was right. She always was.

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Merry Christmas, Dusty. And for those who are confused or anything, just leave a review saying so I'll get back to you I promise, well, I'll try. After writing this, I don't really wanna promise anything… anyways, PLEASE review! I feel this is some of my better work and I want feedback people! Lol. happy holidays, Ash


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